The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed about 250.000 people and became the most dreadful slaughter of civilians in modern history. However, for many years there was a curious gap in the photographic records. Although the names of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were incised into our memories, there were few pictures to accompany them. Even today, the image in our minds is a mixture of devastated landscapes and shattered buildings. Shocking images of the ruins, but where were the victims?

The American occupation forces imposed strict censorship on Japan, prohibiting anything "that might, directly or by inference, disturb public tranquility" and used it to prohibit all pictures of the bombed cities. The pictures remained classified 'top secret' for many years. Some of the images have been published later by different means, but it's not usual to see them all together. This is the horror they didn't want us to see, and that we must NEVER forget:

1. Signals

All the watches found in the ground zero were stopped at 8:15 am, the time of the explosion.

Within a certain distance from the site of explosion, the heat was so intense that practically everything was vaporised. The shadows of the parapets were imprinted on the road surface of the Yorozuyo Bridge, 1/2 of a mile south-southwest of the hypocenter. Besides, in Hiroshima, all that was left of some humans, sitting on stone benches near the centre of explosion, was their outlines.

The photograph bellow shows the stone steps of a Bank where a person was incinerated by the heat rays.

2. The massacre

On August 6, 1945, 8.15 am, the uranium atom bomb exploded 580 metres above the city of Hiroshima with a blinding flash, creating a giant fireball and sending surface temperatures to 4,000C. Fierce heat rays and radiation burst out in every direction, unleashing a high pressure shockwave, vaporising tens of thousands of people and animals, melting buildings and streetcars, reducing a 400-year-old city to dust.

Housewives and children were incinerated instantly or paralysed in their daily routines, their internal organs boiled and their bones charred into brittle charcoal.

Beneath the center of the explosion, temperatures were hot enough to melt concrete and steel. Within seconds, 75,000 people had been killed or fatally injured with 65% of the casualties nine years of age and younger.

Radiation deaths were still occurring in large numbers in the following days. "For no apparent reason their health began to fail. They lost appetite. Their hair fell out. Bluish spots appeared on their bodies. And then bleeding began from the ears, nose and mouth".

Doctors "gave their patients Vitamin A injections. The results were horrible. The flesh started rotting from the hole caused by the injection of the needle. And in every case the victim died".

This photograph shows an eyeball of an A-bomb victim who got an atomic bomb cataract. There is opacity near the center of the eyeball.

3. Hibakusha

Hibakusha is the term widely used in Japan referring to victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese word translates literally to "explosion-affected people".

They and their children were (and still are) victims of severe discrimination due to lack of knowledge about the consequences of radiation sickness, which people believed to be hereditary or even contagious.

Many of them were fired from their jobs. Hibakusha women never got married, as many feared they would give birth to deformed children. Men suffered discrimination too. "Nobody wanted to marry someone who might die in a couple of years".

4. Yamahata, the photographer of Nagasaki

On Agust 10, 1945, the day after the bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata, began to photograh the devastation. The city was dead. He walked through the darkened ruins and the dead corpses for hours. By late afternoon, he had taken his final photographs near a first aid station north of the city. In a single day, he had completed the only extensive photographic record of the immediate aftermath of the atomic bombing of either Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

“A warm wind began to blow - he wrote later - Here and there in the distance I saw many small fires, like elf-fires, smoldering. Nagasaki had been completly destroyed"

Mr. Yamahata's photographs are the most complete record of the atomic bombing as seen in the most immediate hours after the bombing. The New York Times has called Mr. Yamahata's photographs, "some of the most powerful images ever made".

Mr. Yamahata became violently ill on August 6, 1965, his forty-eighth birthday and the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the duodenum, probably caused by the residual effects of radiation received in Nagasaki in 1945. He died on April 18, 1966, and is buried at Tama Cemetery, Tokyo.

These two bombs stopped the war. If we had invaded Japan, casualties on both sides would have dwarfed those suffered from the bombs. My father was on one of those troopships heading for Japan that August. His life was spared thanks to the bomb.

Yeah, 'Nick Teab', way to sound like a total jackass... As long as you're 'paling things in comparison', go check out some of the slaughter the Japanese people perpetrated on the rest of SE Asia. These are some horrible photos of a horrible act brought on by the acts of a suicidal militarized nation. Maybe the lesson you SHOULD be looking for is in there.

Sorry but, you're father's life for a quarter of a million Japanese civilians ?!You arrogant American Idiot !And it's 911 that pales....The lesson learned is that they didn't have to drop the bomb, or invade, the japanese were at the end of their leash. The Bomb drop was a devastating warning to the USSR of the day. But beleive whatever retoric you wish, it doesn't matter in the end.

Being American has nothing to do with acting like an idiot - as you're demonstrating. Since you seem to be saying that the atomic bombing of these cities had nothing to do with the fact that Japan was responsible for the events and savagery of the Pacific War. When exactly was Japan going to just fold up and surrender? You're opening your mouth and outing yourself as some dumbass in a backwards ass country.

The record shows that the Japanese were preparing even the civilians to fight the war to the last man women and child. They may have been close to their last leash but they were far from done fighting.

During World War II, nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the casualties resulting from the abandoned invasion of Japan, Operation Downfall. As of 2005, all the American military casualties of the following sixty years - including the Korean and Vietnam Wars - have not exhausted that stockpile.

we could argue about whether it was right or wrong thing to do... all I know is its horrendous what humans can do to other humans. Its scary to think that this could happen at any time now . Megan Davies UK

The one thing that these photos, and those that exist of the Rape of Nanjing, the Bataan Death march, the Holocaust, Stalin;s purges and other atrocities committed during this time period is that engaging in TOTAL WAR is a horrible sight.

TOTAL WAR is defined as using every means possible to defeat your enemy (-ies). I am not sure if we will ever see such a situation exist again on a global scale. However, it worries me that if it is manifested on a regional scale and one of the participants does have a nuclear bomb - that we might see such horrible sights again.

Never, ever make the mistake of condemning or praising the decision makers in America for making the decision to drop the bomb - it was a decision - just as the decision makers in Japan viewed not taking prisoners, or Stalin killing his own people in a time of war, or the Holocaust, or the Blitz, or the firebombing of Tokyo and Dresden.

We stopped driving for Berlin at the end of the war because it was apparent Russia would beat us there, and the cost was so high - imagine the entire American death toll in Iraq - in a week - or a day - followed by another similar toll. Many question that decision as wrong - because we did not keep on going into Russia (as many German Soldiers urged our troops to do).

The decision was made, the war in Japan ended early. War is hell - no matter how many video games make it seem cool.

"...the greatest thing in history." - Harry S. Truman President of the United States during the Atomic Bombing

"It always appeared to us that, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse." - General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces Under President Truman

"I had been conscious of depression and so I voiced to (Sec. Of War Stimson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at this very moment, seeking a way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face.' " - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Japan was at the moment seeking some way to surrender with minimum loss of 'face'. It wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

"It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was taught not to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying woman and children." - Admiral William D. Leahy Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"I am absolutely convinced that had we said they could keep the emperor, together with the threat of an atomic bomb, they would have accepted, and we would never have had to drop the bomb." - John McCloy

"For example, I offer my belief that the existence of the first atomic bombs may have prolonged -- rather than shortened - World War II by influencing Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and President Harry S. Truman to ignore an opportunity to negotiate a surrender that would have ended the killing in the Pacific in May or June of 1945.

"And I have come to view the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that August as an American tragedy that should be viewed as a moral atrocity." - Stewart L. Udall US Congressman and Author of "Myths of August"

"Certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated." - U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey's 1946 Study

"Careful scholarly treatment of the records and manuscripts opened over the past few years has greatly enhanced our understanding of why Truman administration used atomic weapons against Japan. Experts continue to disagree on some issues, but critical questions have been answered. The consensus among scholars is the that the bomb was not needed to avoid an invasion of Japan. It is clear that alternatives to the bomb existed and that Truman and his advisers knew it. - J. Samuel Walker Chief Historian U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

this was humane compared to what was done by the japanese in china. i'd rather lose my life instantly than watch my wife get raped to death and my children torn apart by dogs. oh, and if the japanese got the bomb first they'd have dropped 500 of them. all of you pointing fingers at americans for being evil, due to THIS, are complete morons.

It makes no sense to discuss the legitimacy of dropping the Atomic bombs on Japan. You can quote whoever you want and there will be a counter to that quote, you can bring up any evidence you want and there will be a counter to that evidence.

These pictures should not be viewed as an indictment of the US, but as evidence of events we want never to see again.

On a separate note, it is easy to look back now and say that it is wrong, especially when viewing pictures such as these. However, it is also unfair and wholly reliant on hindsight.

Who is this "they" that have been hiding these pictures? I believe I have seen many pictures and heard many stories about these events. It is not a closely kept secret and it is not something that America is proud of. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were deeply discussed in my highschool history classes and debates similar to this one raged for weeks. The one thing I know for sure is that it was a horrible event during a horrible time where there was a lot of fear and desperation and emotional distress. I believe it was neither right nor wrong, it simply was and it is something to learn from.

We need perspective, to determine our future. Let this add to the perspective.Hannah Arendt wrote of the war crimes trial of Adolf Eichman, of which she witnessed in person. She wrote of his defense of his efforts in exterminating Jews, that, instead of appearing an evil character he instead appeared quite ordinary. He claimed that he was just doing his job. She coined the phrase 'the banality of evil' to describe it.Hold that thought.Now consider the social experiments of Stanley Milgram, wherein he tests how far people will go in the pursuit of their job, whether they will choose duty over the value of human life. Look it up, it's very interesting (and no people were ever harmed, BTW).The point that I'm trying to illustrate is this-- that we are, or should be, individually responsible for what we do, even if that is under orders.I HATE to come to this conclusion, because it might mean that my country could be in the wrong for things it did in the past. And I realize there are many conclusions to consider in the decision to go to war, and how far to take it. Perhaps (*-COUGH-*) this is precisely why we should subject the leadership of our country (whichever government that may be) to the closest scrutiny possible, and hold them accountable.

You need to understand not only the circumstanses of the war but also the political ones. It was TOTAL WAR with that you use all resources at your disposal to defeat your enemy. There were more lives lost in the bombings of Tokyo in the last months of the war than both atomic bombs. Yes the Japanese were at the end of the rope but given multiple opportunitites to surrender including after the first atomic bomb was dropped. The Japanese government at the time should bear a majority of the responsability by not surrendering and starting a war they new they could not win. They are the ones charged with the saftey and security of thier nation.

At no point should this ever be compared with the systematic slaughter of 6 million people in death camps.

As far as never seeing TOTAL WAR again we are moving toward it and quickly with Iran. The similarities between Japan and Iran are amazingly similar. Both nations ruled by a religeous elite that indoctrinate the youth into fighting for thier God.

By the way if you eliminate all post justifying the bombing your censoring one side of the debate in order to push your own opinion instead of letting people make up thier own minds about it. Much like a facist or communist state.

Almost a week after the second blast, upon finally hearing of the events, Hirohito said, "One bomb or a thousand... the results are the same". He was unmoved... The war ended because at the same time over 1,000,000 Soviet troops were pouring onto Japan's Northern shores. Historic details missed somehow in the USA.

Some peeps here I want to hug, shake their hands...other I want to send to college, but not in the US...trying to educate the mouse whilse it resides in the maze and trap is futile. Thanx for the pics. Hopefully the American People will shake things up before another trajedy unfolds.

The Japs started the whole thing- screw them. The did the rape of Nanking, committed chemical and biological atrocities on Chinese and Koreans. No tears from me for the evil Japs they got nuked and deserved it. The rest of you slap happy liberals would be living under Nazi Jap rule if it wasn't for the mighty United States. Not only that we rebuilt the entire Japanese nation with US money. Do you think the Japs would have done that if they had beat us.

Yeah, look at the pics. Horrific? Terrifing? Hmmm, I remember My Grandfather telling a story about while he was in one of there little prison. Him and his buddies would randomly get beat for no reason,They would pull out there fingernails with pliers, Not before sticking bungi sticks ,soaked in crap, Under the nails , ankles broke if escape was even whispered. I fell no pity! Even when you look at these pics ,remember we lost several young sailors 18 t o 19 in fires, explosions, drowning ,metal fragments flying aroud.History teaches us to be better.

I remember reading somewhere that Japan was already considering surrender -- that American military strategists knew this -- that American military commanders didn't want to use the bomb -- that American politics was the deciding factor to drop the bombs.

Documents uncovered since have shown that it wasn't necessary---the Japanese were on the verge of surrendering. Even if you agreed with the first bombing, what was the point of the second? No, the only reason this was done was to scare Russia and establish the U.S. as the "leader" of the free world. Its current moral decay is what is eroding its place as a leader.

My father served in the Pacific Theater during WWII and experienced the stark reality of war. Many died when his ship was bombed. Being in signals intelligence he had this to say about Truman. He was the worst president in US history. The American people have been fed a mountain of lies by the political elite. The difference is now we have the internet and can search out the truth. The new struggle is how to make our leaders obey this differently informed public.

I liked the comment by the shithead that not only couldn't spell but grouped all of us "slap happy liberals" together. . .

I consider myself a liberal and don't enjoy seeing pictures of any living thing suffering but to try and determine right and wrong with such relatively limited information would be laughable if the subject matter wasn't so horrendous. I'm also a huge fan of the "if somebody hits you, hit em back twice as hard" philosophy. . .

Oh yeah. . .the shithead censor that deletes any post he doesn't agree with is also a lovely touch. . .great for an open discussion. . .you're about as much of an Einstein as Bush. . .

Pity that no one bothered to post the pictures of the murdered civilians in Hawaii from Pearl Harbor, as well as the servicemen.

Not to mention the 2.5 million Koreans slaughtered, enslaved or tortured by the Japanese...as well as the Nanking victims, brutal mass rapes, beheadings, wholesale slaughter (which the Nagasaki/Hiroshima bombs ended)

Japanese soldiers were evil. Jap medical experiments and torture were worse than the Nazis.

But nothing justifies Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not even 'total war', because we were never really waging 'total war'. If we were, we'd have obviously nuked Tokyo and Berlin first. Human beings at war are still human beings.

One military target would have satisfied every argument. Two civilian targets ruins them all. 65% of the killed under 9 years old? Over 100,000 children being burnt alive was not a justified or necessary act of war, it was 100,000 fucking CHILDREN being fucking BURNT ALIVE.

yeah, now that the punk assed USA has dropped the only Nuclear device to date they're real enthusiastic about controlling the use of these devices. They never won a war that they didnt have 10-1 odds in. serve them right to get their big asses beat in Nam.If dropping the bomb on Japan was such a great idea as all these chest beating yanks are bellowing why is there a global treaty against their proliferation ( enforced only against people we have a beef with).

The ignorance and blind partiotism of some of you disgust me beyond belief.

I think some of you need to go back to kindergarden and learn that just because someone hits you, that doesn't mean you can hit them back. Yes the Rape of Nanking was terrible, there's no debating that. However, that does not justify what we did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not in the least.

Also, to the person who said something about the Japanese dropping 500 bombs on us if they had the chance, that logic is hardly enough to justify killing innocent people. And also, attempting to justify using an atomic bomb based on a hypothetical question is completely idiotic.

The lesson should have been learned then, and still seems like it hasn't which is there is a moral obligation to end a war as fast as possible. Imagine how ugly the pictures of U.S. Military invasion would be? Many of you with WWII Vets as parents/granparents wouldnt even be here to cluck-cluck at these pics.

no american is under the delusion that the a-bombs were pleasent and we know the history that hundreds of thousands died. but every society will act in its own self interest. enemies be damned. japanese knew they were within bombing range of the allies.

if hitler or stalin had developed their bombs first they would have used it on targets similar to the way any war strategist would have.

war is terrible, it always has been. we've made transgressions sure, but no different than any other powerful nation in the history of the world.

america bashing is also in vogue...so argue on as you wish.

the internet is a great new invention that allows every mind to connect with each other the discuss the trials of history. perhaps in the near future, our connectedness will prevent future TOTAL wars like WW1 and WW2.

Thank God for freedom of expression. Sure makes it easy to spot the murderous and racist bastards still hiding under the Red White and Blue. Imagine if they were actually intelligent and said the opposite of what they thought, they'd be actually dangerous. Instead they'd rather try to sound cool and macho by saying bullshit like : That's what they get for messing with us... I never heard a real man utter those words, only small and petty lowlifes who see themselves as the star of the crappy D-movie that is their lives. You poor retarded children, they are messing with our USA precisely because of all of you gleefully uninformed cattle, all too willing to justify or ignore any stain in the past. You pussies talking about jerking off to those pictures already have what you deserve, the mind of an inbred four year old and a future as bright as the filling of a used condom. If you think murdering a quarter of a million civilian is an incentive for justice or peace, you are a borderline vegetable. The same irresponsibility and ignorance of those days is still going strong. "They started it???????" You'd think people would know after 50 years that Pearl Harbor was a black-flag Operation. Your life must be very hard to maintain with all those facts and thruths you have to zig-zag through in a day. Normal people don't want other people dead because they think they are wrong, or even just supremely dumb. And no, they started it didn't work with your kindergarden teacher, and it surely won't work for genocides either. Sure shows where you go to discuss politic though HAHAHAHAHAHA!

The body is fragile...there are many forces...wounds and awful death can be made by many things...the mind of mankind is forgetful and indolent...the causes of war are always argued, the truth is always fabricated out of a mix of guesses, logic and lies...good luck...we are not blessed, for we have hunger and anger and a will to compel others to do as we say. We are the way and the fearful living.

I can't freakin believe these posts. Seriously. It's 2007. Isn't it about time that we realize war=bad?? Why can't we (not only the people but also our governments) confess to all of the bad that our ancestors have committed in the past and learn from their mistakes? Don't deny it or try to talk it down like it was not that bad, and admit that what we did was wrong and horrific.

I am a japanese citizen, raised in the US with a sense of belonging to both countries. I am ashamed of both for what they have done, but I also know that I am not like them. I am a young woman who thinks of herself as a human being. One who lives on this planet Earth who would like to see some changes being made. It's not Japanese, or American, or Iraqi anymore. We're human beings.

Just freakin get over it and move on!! Instead of bitching about it for who knows how long, go research both sides of the story. Try to freakin understand why it happened. THEN you can come back here and say what ever the hell you want to.

I mean damn. Is anyone else tired of reading comments posted by VERY uninformed people? I am.

I believe the decision to drop the A-bombs was the correct. War is unpleasant and, as many commenters have noted, Japan gave a lot worse, in Nanking and all over Asia. Also, I wander how many opponents of the US decision to drop the A-bombs understand that US air force killed 4 to 6 Japanese civilians with napalm for every one filled with A-bombs.

Also, in a futile effort to try to keep facts straight, the guy who says the soviets landed 1,000,000 troops on the Japanese north islands is smoking dope or being paid by Kim Jong Il. The sovs declared war against Japan and made some land grabs, but no real fighting.

The one thing that I find even a bit funny, is how the world is going down the shit-hole. Pardon the expression, but that's the single term that I found that was powerful enough to cover everything that happened since the dawn of intelligent life.

It's natural to kill, but not to mass murder your own kind

I'm sorry to say, but EVERY SINGLE ONE of your posts, including mine, is completely useless. This world is shitting on itself with so much momentum, one species doesn't stand a chance to stop it, even if we've created it.

the fact that it took two bombs is the proof that it was absolutely necessary. the Japaneses saw the devastating power of the atomic bomb and still wouldn't give up, and only after the second one did they realize that the had no choice to surrender. a land invasion would have cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides.

and in all honesty, the atomic bomb was the best thing that could have happened for japan. its sad to think about it this way but forcing a quick surrender to the americans gave the americans total control over the island. if a prolonged land invasion had happened, the russians would have become involved and taken control of part of the island.. and we all know how well that ended up for germany.

Yes, the atomic bombs were a terrible decision. But as someone said, they were a decision. There is nothing that we can do to change what happened. I do not believe what my country did was right, but it happened. I have come to terms with this. What we need to do is see this, and make sure that it never happens again. Ever. It is a terrible atrocity that should never be repeated. I see people suggesting to use "nukes" on Iran and other such nations. You people disgust me. How can you be so heartless. Yes, Iran is a threat to not only the United States, but the world. But nothing can justify the the use of another nuclear device. My belief is that the use of one, would be along the lines of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the cause of World War I. This would throw the world into a sea of chaos that would most likely end with the annihilation of most of the human race. Nations would be firing nukes off left and right. Which guess what. Would most likely destroy those calling for the use of the nukes in the first place. Also, everyone who enjoys beating on the United States now really needs to take a look at the History books. No, I'm not going to ramble about how we "saved your asses in WWII." I'm going to go farther back. They need to take a look at what THEIR nations have done in the past. The slaughtering of non-Christians, the slaughtering of Muslims. The slaughter and rape of native people who had done nothing wrong. You all choose to ignore these facts to bash on us Americans. No, I'm not happy with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nor am I happy with the current state of affairs that the world is in. I believe that many things need to be changed before a real peace can occur. But dammit, this is my country you are all attacking, and I will NOT stand idly by and let it occur. Sure, call me an idiot for standing by my nation. For standing by my nation that you all loathe so much. But the truth is, you would all do the same if you were in my position.

I can't help but think that all the Americans had to do was show the Japanese film footage of what their new A-toy could do, and that would have been more than enough to get an immediate surrender. The fact that this didn't happen (either they weren't shown, or they were and declined to surrender) indicates to me that there was definitely some other motivation for dropping the bombs than simply ending the war.

How in hell anyone on any 'side' could use this as anything other than a comment on man's ability for base destruction is unfathomable. You're really arguing who started it? Or who is capable of it? Humans - that is the only unifying thread among the many many atrocities.

If all wars ended this way, it's a safe bet people wouldn't be so quick to start wars.

That's why I'm fully in favor of ending every war with an atomic bomb. That would be my policy if I were President.

Think about it - when everyone knows and expects the consequences of war to include a grand finale of atomic explosions, I'm pretty confident that we as a nation (and others from other nations) would be damned cautious about picking a fight with somebody.

Whilst the atomic bombings cost many, many lives, the "fire bombing" of Tokyo took more lives in one night than both the bombs combined...

War is a terrible thing, but these bombings, whilst terrible, aren't, by a long shot, the worst atrocity ever committed in war....

one of the American airforce generals during the war (I think it was the army air corps then, and it was in relation to the "strategic bombing" of dresden) said that had they (allied powers) lost the war, he would have been tried as a war criminal.

"Strategic" bombing, aka.. bombing of civilian support centers is the most terrible thing war has ever produced, for those killed are not willing participants.

This happened over 60 years ago. You can't chew yesterday's breakfast. The reason it happened is 62 years ago and you can't change that. How may of you were even alive then? I wasn't. We maze-well discuss whether Rome was justified in destroying Carthage . I do remember at High School (in Australia) our Art teacher reminding us of the anniversary of the bombings each year and asking us students to feel sorry for the Japanese. We have all seen pictures of war. Now, we have a war that promises more nukes (US/Israel vs. Iran) that is going to happen soon, so we can all gush over up-to-date images of nuclear atrocities. ANONIBUS

Yeah, these pictures show the real face of the united states of america...it is an evil country filled w evil doers. america is the source of all filth on this planet. it is like a whore sitting on the ocean and poisoning the whole world w its immoral values.

It's not a contest about who suffers the most, or which tragedy is the worst. It is about raw human suffering. It is about immense death, destruction, and unimaginable loss. These pictures demonstrate that. Thank you for posting them.

a lot of ignorant people on this board. and i mean a lot. i read somewhere that islam is the end of the free world.....wrong. it is humans who are going to end up killing themselves, regardless of religion, skin color, creed, etc. humans in general aren't ready to possess such power and when they do, it is used for evil purposes. like it or not, this is how it is.

Learn your history people. It is well proven that their was NO need to use the bomb. Japan was trying to surrender weeks before it was used. This is a FACT.Maybe they don't show these pictures in the United States, but in the rest of the world, we see them. When are you as a nation going to realize you are NOT a protector of human rights but rather an abuser.

I read through some of the arguments justifying the bomb. The real issue to me is that the end does not justify the means. War just sucks and shi*t happens. People (yes even americans) do things they would never normally do during war which many would consider evil.

I also think that whoever "wins" a war gets to (re-)write history.

Since all of us posting probably weren't in WWII, we probably shouldn't speak on behalf of those who fought on either side, or what who was more right (or wrong). This was a horrible event and should serve as a reminder this never happen again anywhere.

Lastly I _have_ to throw this in there-"Don't mess with the US" is the most ignorant statement ever said. We've gotten our asses handed to us before in other wars, and we've been wrong before. I love my country but we sure have alot of stupid aholes.

Dear author: Thank you for the picturesDear commenters: Thank you for your opinionsDear haters: Thank you for your point of viewDear diggers: Thank you for bringing this to my attentionDear Japanese: I'm very sorry for the actions of my country

Those who say that the deaths and suffering of civilians is justified because their country "messed with the US" are more philosophically aligned with the ideals of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan than they are with those of the allied powers during WWII.

The real shame is that the US, as the most powerful and (relative to it's degree of power: certainly the US, like all powerful nations in history, has committed it's fair share of atrocities) compassionate nation the world has ever seen has the potential to lead the world into a new golden age of humanity.

Instead, many citizens of the US, like the citizens of WWII-era Japan and Germany, blindly buy into the culture of of greed and hubris that always precedes the downfall of a great power.

As horrable as these pictures are, I find that the suffering placed on these peoples pales in compairison to what it would of been if the USA had invaded and used conventional weapons to defeat the enemy that had attacked them at pearl harbor years prior.

I recently saw footage and surviving us soldiers cometary about the invasion of Okinawa, where civilians elected to jump to their death instead of continuing to live after their island had been occupied. Footage of japanese soldiers getting burnt alive by flame throwers since they culture refuses to allow them to surrender and continue to live after defeat in battle.

End of the story? How ever horrable the atomic bomb's aftermath was, they saved the lives of japanese not living in the two cities, and countless soldiers (japanese and American) who were desitined to die in battle when the US would of invaded.

some people are brighter than others; know the jist of the game and can determine what their own goals should be...these enlightened are able to preserve their souls and in the press of danger, their life and limb as well...do they study books?..yeah, possibly...do they ask questions of the wise?..no doubt...do they watch the actions of animals and brutes?...yes, very much...do they wish to be the latter??

the herd battles while the hired hands fly at each other with recommendations for peace and the princes lean into the fire to retrieve another treasure and consider the gamble of a better life...this is hell.

This board simply demonstrates the most stereotypical facets of both the Euopean and American mindset. It's either "boo hoo you shouldn't have dropped the bomb on all those poor innocent Japanese!", or "Fvck yeah screw the world we got dem der dirty Japs what was a'comin to 'em!"

You are all for the most part fvcking idiots.

Stop trying to pretend your feeble mind can sum up the complexities of WWII and it's hastening with two bu11shit sentences of hyperbole and rhetoric, or just flat out ignorant yelling as most of you are doing. As much fun as it is watching the insane level of righteousness you all seem to possess, just remember that you are a supremely ignorant being with the utter inability to empathize with anyone else's point of view but your own. What frightens me is that some if not most of you have the ability to vote... That is why we have a crazed retard in the Unites States Whitehouse, and why we have quasi-commie douchebags running the EU. Keep yelling at each other like a bunch of frenzied monkeys, you're playing your role to a tee.

I go to a top 50 American university and I am a History major. I wrote a thesis about this very topic, a majority of my information coming from primary sources. Its so grand that 95% of people on both sides of this argument think they have a lease on the truth. Well, congratulations, most of you have no idea what you are talking about. New books are published every year discussing this topic, and guess what... there is still a debate among noted historians worldwide on the topic. So keep arguing amongst yourselves, I'm sure you will change the world with these dated pictures and ignorant blogging

Indeed, the Japanese would not surrender as long as the life of the Emperor was in peril. The American military know this, and as soon as the U.S. promised not to kill him, the Japanese immediately surrendered. Keep this in mind the next time you here it said that the dropping of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two preponderantly Catholic cities of Japan, reduced any American casualties. Think about it.

this is what makes me wonder yo. when we do this like this to other countries, we say they deserved it. when some country does it to us, its terrorism or they evil. america did the same thing to iraq, vietnam and all those other countries like what the japanese did to america in pearl harbor yet they say the japanese are criminals and say america ain't.

then you got america on some fight terrorism bullshit when WE the numbre uno terrorists. we terrorize countries, we bully them around, we send troops to fuck em up. i'm pretty sure that there's soliders in iraq raping women, children and men and doing war crimes but you never hear about that. we dropping bombs on countries. almost all of the wars in the world has US in them.

So people don't keep demonizing the US for the atomic bombs, I think it is important to look at the total civilian casualties in world war two. From what I've seen researching it, that comes to about 32million civilians. Now there were about 500,000 casualties caused by the atomic bombs and their after effects. That works out to a staggering 1.6% of civilian casualties. Was it a horrible thing, yes, but it fits right in with the bigger picture of World War II. Also, I ask you to consider whether there is any nation that was heavily involved in WWII that would not have used an atomic bomb on at least one of their enemies given the opportunity.

its the fact whether it is right to bomb Japan or not or what Japan did in the first place. There are so many reasons and explanations why they did the things they did. The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that the US makes it seem like they are better and more graceful than others. They arent, we are all the same. It's war. And this is what happens in wars.

i will post this exactly in my blog With adding more photos from net ..I dont understand why the hell US always wants war . Now it has moved one more war ship to the Gulf .i wants one more war on Iran which will be highly devasting . Iran has nuclear energy which if used would devast the whole earth .

Stupid politicians of US,UK who support war should think that it is none if there bussiness to poke in the matters of other countries . Who the hell wants supremacy , everyone wants peace . They have destroyed Afganistan , Iraq in the last 5 yrs , now they want to add one more to it ...

To all those who believe the propaganda of "we saved lives by dropping the bomb": while this may be somewhat true for the first bomb, the second bomb was a pure act of terror and revenge; a crime against humanity. If you Americans were so afraid to fight the Japanese Empire on their home island, you could have just left them to the Russians. Comrade Stalin would have been perfectly capable of dealing with them. Also: would there have been more bombs if the Germans were not Europeans (read: white)? I am convinced that yes. In addition to that I would like to add that no matter how bad the other side was, dropping those bombs is in no case less horrible an act or more justified. This being said: everyone should ask themselves what they would have done, had they been the decision makers at that time, after 6 years of war and over 60 000 000 people dead. Once you do that, this whole judgement thing suddenly gets a whole lot trickier, doesn't it?

but nobody ever hears of the atrocities committed by japan against other asian nations. they would rape chinese women and cut out their fetuses--alive and awake--to perform experiments like inserting needles up infants' fingers. ever hear of the rape of nanking?

no, let's demonize america. if you dish it, you gotta take it. i mean let's be real here... crime is crime. don't tell me that america running up in countries, blowing shit up ain't criminal activity. even in wars between other countries where we ain't the ones doing the fighting, we sending these guys weapons to kill each other so we can go over and take control of their terrorities by trying to play peacemaker when we the ones fueling the fire.

for real... how is this not considered a tragedy? it is. did those people that dropped the bomb think IF that could have been their kids or wife down there?

this is why life isn't shit anymore. motherfuckers have no respect for life.

the dude that dropped the bomb and the president should be incarcerated for life for doing that terrorist act. if this is a case of mass murder and where a life sentence without the possiblity of parole was an option, THIS is the case.

i just HOPE that another country or somebody doesn't decide to do THIS to us or anybody else. I JUST HOPE NOT! america pretty much made itself a target by doing this shit. that's one thing that makes me think and fear for a second. as sad as it sounds, america pretty much is waiting for a punishment for this. we're living in some serious times.

What I find really neat,to stray from all of the flaming,is that the Japanese at one point were at a crossroads-they had a concept of a nuclear weapon of some sort,but continued previous research on a microwaveray project, hoping to roast the Allies as they sailed in.

How dare we, as complacent Americans, seek convenience over what's ethical. How dare we choose the economic choice over subsequent generations of suffering. It sickens me to see my countrymen justify this unholy advent of technology as "humane". Pearl Harbor was a tragedy, one wrought with conventional weapons. Nothing of that time could compare with the destructive power of the atomic bombs. People's eyes melted out of their heads if they looked to the skies on detonation, radiation poisoning killed people over the course of their lifetimes, people lay dying where they fell for days, if not weeks, after the detonation if they weren't in the epicenter of the explosion. We bear witness to violence begetting violence constantly, so let's build a weapon that does more to hinder world peace than promote it.

just imagine a world where nazi germany, pre war japan or any of the muslim nations of today was the super power, with all the bad things they did or still do. the USA is not perfect but we give our lives and money so others can be free. Its scary to think that most of the world thinks the usa is the bad guy. You should thank god that its not these previous countries or the former ussr or china with all there human rights violations. USA gives freedom all the others and more would take it away.

heh. The moral of WWII:If you're fighting a war, make sure you win it!The winning side would justify any evil doings as "correct" and modify history to their likings.Remember Pearl Harbor... as if the US did not know that it was going to be attacked way in advance (and the govt didn't do anything to protect fellow Americans). Pearl Harbor was a gimmick to give the US justification for entering the pacific war. Much like the A-bombs were gimmicks - to scare the living crap out of Stalin.

Being someone from Taiwan, it is sad that the atomic bombs' inherent inability to distinguish between civilian and military target. However, I feel little remorse for them for the following reason.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_NankingFor a more complete list.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_War_AtrocitiesOf course, it is not right to fight an evil with another evil. I won't say the people deserve it. But its a bit difficult to have sympathy when you grow up learning about the atrocities in Nanking.

How bout we just leave it at this, it was war, all countries on all sides killed civilians. It's not like both sides were launching guided missiles at each other. It was a whole lot of who can get more bigger better bombs and drop them on the other guy. No country involved in WWII was overly concerned with enemy civilian casualties. Don't put all of the other allied nations on a pedestal because they didn't drop an atomic bomb on anyone. They would have if they had any. You might say no they wouldn't, but remember this is over 50 years ago at the end of a war that killed over 60,000,000 people (more than half of them civilians). Everybody in WWII got their hands dirty, that is the kind of war it was. The atomic bombs were terrible, but no worse than almost every other single aspect of World War II.

Hey soldier, I see the propaganda has worked well with you."Remember Pearl Harbor" Your the type of idiot who watches movies and takes them as historical fact, aren't you.Ah, to have such a simple mind...must be nice.

I have been in combat. I can't say that I understand war even though I have lived it. Bottom line: it was war.

War, in its unmitigated ferocity, makes us less than human, but it's inherently human to war. We have questioned our own humanity in this context for thousands of years, and yet we still war. We still slaughter. We still rape. We still torture. We still destroy.

...there are no innocents (sins of the father).

I won't even try to get "into the heads" of the men who made the decision to drop. I see nothing gained in trying to understand what led them to the decision. I have seen first hand what happens when someone makes a decision to unleash hell on an "enemy". What I saw in his eyes was simply war. I will carry that vision with me to the grave and pray that I never see it again in my lifetime.

Thank you very much for dedication to meaning and sincerity towards all the lives lost. In ones opinion, I would have to agree that the photos taken were some of the most powerful, and will remain the most powerful pictures taken until the end of time.

As for those of you who have the idea "Don't mess with the U.S" caught up in your head, you probably deserve to be pushed off a cliff. Grow up, and show some respect, you egotistical, idiotic infant morons.

STFU with your statistics and percentages, can you even fathom what a 100 dead people looks like?? You distance yourself from atrocities by using cold numbers, but nobody who has the privilege who ranting here can even realize what 250 000 deaths in a single seconds means. WWII lasted for years, and in a day 250 000 is nothing???

Funny, whats the noise about 911 then???If a quarter million dead is OK for you, just bend over and take 249 more...

It's only the beginning of what we americans deserve, because thats just FOR ONE SINGLE SECOND of the years and years of wars we have been waging.Unless we do something about our egocentrical view of the world...

Why do people think it is so much worse to have an injury caused by a nuke than a normal bomb? I feel like some people here think everybody in the war was gently put to sleep before they died while the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki died horrible deaths. Any death in war is going to be a horrible death. So if somebodies eyes melt because of a nuclear blast, is that worse than the 75 that are dismembered or are blinded from shrapnel? It seems to be for some people.

No where in that post was an attempt at rationalization. Yes, I had a duty. Now in place of my duty I have memories such as the one where the the brains of the man that was standing in front of me became part of my uniform for the next 36 hours. How the hell do you rationalize that by waxing poetically about my duty? Poeticizing? Where the hell did you come up with that?

hmm...this is where I wish little green men from outer space come and ruin our day. Then it would be a world united for a change instead of alot hate that seems to never end.Or maybe its better that a rock drops from outer space and put us all out of our misery. At least the planet will survive and shake off these ticks that have infested the planet...ok back to reality.

-Normal bombs don't have that extra lil'zing called radiation (both at detonation and residual)

-When normal bombs explode you are dead if you are hit. When nuclear devices explode everyone you know dies with you... And the people dumb enough to recover whats left of it all, or simply try to rebuild and live.

Geez that was easy... WTF do they teach you at school nowadays??

Oh yeah... tolerance and acceptance of other's life styles instead of history...

At around 5 years for World War II and 60,000,000 casualties, that gives us about 32,877 casualties every single day. Now, as there was most definitely not an even distribution like this, in reality it would not be unlikely for this to spike up to about 100,000 on some days. Hiroshima had about 135,000 casualties and Nagasaki 64,000. Does this deviate too far from the norm of WWII. NO! I'm not saying we shouldn't care about these people, but what about the other 59.5million casualties. Are they not as important? Were their wounds and deaths worth less because they weren't killed by an atomic bomb? Don't make this event out to be so much worse than the war as a whole.

go check out some of the slaughter the Japanese people perpetrated on the rest of SE Asia

And one of the is Philippines. Japanese used to toss a child or a baby and stabbing them with their sword. They raped and killed many Filipino women and remember the Death March? Where many Americans and Filipino were masacred.

I'm not saying that, they deserve it. It just that, it's one part of the story and many other lives,races,country were affected. I guess don't do unto other's what you don't want others do unto you.

The fact is hindsight is 20/20. All over the world you will find people who argue that the use of atomic weapons is horrible. There are debates (such as these) that the use of them was wrong and that the use of them was right. The fact is the use of them did bring to light the horrific and powerful destruction atomic weapons yield. In the end the use of them in World War II by the United States might have prevented the use of them by other countries in the future (including the United States). After World War II there were lots of tests of atomic weapons by several countries (The United Kingdom, The Soviet Union, France, China, etc.) It is sad to say that the results of the bombs gave EVERYBODY in the world an idea of their destructive power.

I have lived with people and discussed this issue with people from Japan, Australia and other countries. Most educated and informed people agree that it was a decision in the time of war and nobody truly knows what would have or what might have happened. Everything is pure speculation based on evidence but nothing is ever conclusive except for events that transpire.

A note on the use of two bombs. From my understanding, the Japanese were not going to surrender after the first bomb and the second bomb was more of a psychological effect. After the second bombing it was unknown if there were just two atomic weapons that the United States possessed or maybe two dozen or two hundred. I BELIEVE, and I stress that this is my belief that after witnessing that sort of destructive power that not only has the capability to destroy buildings but poison the area around the impact, the Japanese believed surrendering was the best option. It is one thing to dig in and fight the enemy to the last breath where your people and soldiers have a chance of survival in caves and scattered throughout the land with the ability to inflict further casualties upon your enemy. However, when your enemy posses the ability to destroy you and eliminate your possibility of seeking shelter (radiation from the detonations), surrender seems like a better option.

Looking back we now see Japan as a striving economic nation in the world, leading it in the electronics industry. I would believe this is a much better outcome then Japan not surrendering and leaving the possibility of countless more nuclear weapons being dropped on Japan making it unlivable.

The other universal fact is there are arrogant and uninformed people all around the world. It does not matter what country you come from, it is part of human nature. Enjoy and don’t get offended by the post but take a look at it and absorb it.

You are also putting words in my mouth, I already said word for word "Any murder is inacceptable, any day of any war is horrible I give you that" Now if that translates into "It's better to kill 60,000,000 over five years, but if you 60,000 die in one second...that would just be messed up."I can't even begin to understand how wrong that is. You are not even getting your precious cold numbers right....

Guess some people are meant to argue with themselves because they just don't listen...

ok to blame the people living today in the US for the horrible bombing is akin to blaming anyone from germany for the concentration camps. its moot neither myself nor anyone under the age of 80 had anything to do with that. with that said yes the bombing was horrible but guess what its too late its done there is nothing you can do about it. the japanese have made it a point lately to put more about the bombing in thier text books good but in the same move they remove all refrences to the slaughter they commited and that is shameful. on that note the US text books should view the bombing as a horrible act also so shame on us.

every one in the world right now seems to have the "US is the reason everything is wrong" virus. a smart canadian writer said once that as much as we hate the US look at the facts of there have been terrorist attacks all over the world many more than then in the US and most of the perpetrated by people who live there but look at the attacks on the US where were they from? the US is one of the few countries that nomatter where you are from citizenship is attainable and its hard to bomb your home.

Look almost all of the people of the US under the age of 50 belive quite strongly that dropping the bomb was horrible. So like i said dont blame the citizens of modern germany for hitler or the citizens of modern rome for the crucifiction because they didnt do it. Just like i didnt help build that bomb or the plane that dropped it. The "sins" of the father or mother or grandfather should not be paid with the blood of thier children.

And getting rid of all the nukes is impossible absolutely as long as there are those who wish to kill that will be thier ultimate weapon. but remember you wont shoot at someone who can shoot back. i know its cliche'd but MAD keeps the normal round of the mill crazies from destroying the world its the absolute crazies we got to watch.

now IRAQ yes GW used false info to perpetrate that war but guess what again its too late you cannont change the outcome of that either. so how bout every one help change the future of that country so children are safe? or is it too much to ask?

in closing as long as the blame game is played war is inevitable so instead of just going your a bad country do something. you can say what ever you want about the president i dont care its your perogitive. but dont for one minute try to blame every US citizen for all of this because that is bigotry.

i know it was long but sometimes everything in your head needs to comeout im a US citizen and you know what we may not be perfect but lets see is any other country helping in darfur?? no how about any of the 8 countries in africa in war?? no hummmm guess the pot shouldnt call the kettle black untill it looks in the mirror with the lights on. not saying that the people of any one of the countries dont care but what have you and your country done to help?? anyone?? food isnt the answer because its stolen and the pepole who need it never see it. so where is the outcry the countries racing to thier aid?? nope they are all too busy complaining about iraq and iran and south korea but guess what if you stare at a bonfire for too long you can go blind and not see anything else. or anyone else.

hey, whatever makes you feel better about what you were made to do. just bc people didnt go into duty doesnt mean that their different opinions are less than yours. maybe youre clouded by war trauma or the compulsive need to obey. maybe youre brainwashed. post traumatic disorder?

You're right, I should've said 60,000,000 casualties spread over 5 years. However, I said 60,000 killed in one second because I didn't remember the exact figure. But here it is, only 66,000 were killed immediately by the blast, 69,000 were wounded. Casualties include both, so there were 66,000 dead and 69,000 wounded for a total of 135,000 casualties in that one second. I fail to see where my numbers are wrong.

"We are talking about a single second that killed about a million people accounting radiation deaths that came years after"

My problem is that you focused on it being one second. My point is simply that if somebody kills 5 people spread out over a few hours or kills 5 people all at once it doesn't matter. How many people lost their lives is what you should look at, and not how fast.

People, don't ever forget who started the war! The Japs did! For the millions of civilians all across Asia who have suffered, including my very own parents, I said the Japs got it easy. It only took seconds. Conversely, the Japs ravaged China, Korea, Singapore, Phillipines, etc. for more than 10 years. Ask every WWII veterans and they will tell you the Japs were orders of magnitude worse the Nazis in terms of degree of brutality.

For those of you feeling sorry for the Japs, go read a history book about WWII in Pacific. They deserved every bit of it and then some. The Japs are very good at playing victims.

So what??? You're a US citizen, does that mean you'll lie to cover for your nation? Are you reading to blindly follow anything they say or tell you to do and believe? Too bad freedom of speech we gained but freedom of thought we lost...

I am a US citizen.WE FUCKED UP BEFORE.I am sorry for the sins of my father but by your logic, we should get a truckload of asskicking soon, soldier bro... Deeply hope you don't get some DU disease... damn...

Are you fucking kidding me? 9/11 had 3000 victims... your talking hundreds of thousands of victims, dying prolonged deaths, many who were not incinerated instantly suffered their last years with a social stigmata that we cannot relate to.

Fogonazos: Thank you much for sharing these pictures: Many of them are new to me and I fancy myself an expert of the nuclear events from aug 6th - 1955, but somehow many of these photos evaded me until now.

Fantastic presentation. There is a laundry list of complaints and arguments above this comment but it is not fair for any of us to say if it was right or wrong. Justification is not the issue here. The fact of the matter is that it happened. Now what do we do with this information? Learn from it. Make a difference. Total war (as mentioned in an earlier comment) will not happen on this planet likely ever again. The fact of the issue is that there are atomic weapons still out there, many unaccounted for, or lying in stockpiles around the world. Weapons thousands of times more powerful than those used at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Iran wants to manufacture weapons like these, N. Korea has. Despots and dictators and countries bent on wars of religion or against a specific "people" are attempting to create these weapons en masse. It is disgusting. If another weapon like this is ever released again then all of the lives lost and remembered from those two cities will be for naught. And that is a truely an atrocity.

its easy to demonize anyone in hindsight but guess what is much harder??? sill guessing well that explains alot and is why there will be more war. The answer is simple its too late it happened and nothing will change that but you you! have the power to make sure it doesnt happen again. What will you do? did you make your government destroy all of its nukes?? how about thier bombs? or thier armies? darn none of the above well guess what you just proved something as we all just did for all of our ranting and positioning we have failed ourselves and those whom follow us. We still hate we still war and we still kill. so unless you can wave some magic wand and place the nuclear genie back in the bottle what are you going to do? How will you change this future? What is your grand plan? Where is your your solution? (saying just love eachother is a cop out so dont do it) love is nice but by just posting one flame about the US is evil shows that that hate lives and breathes and is having lots of babies. Until foresight becomes 20/20 we are all doomed to fight over precived dangers and false claims. Look then leap and maybe you can land on your feet. (i know my butt hurts from all the times i landed right on it)

night all i hope that one day "the (insert country here) is evil" phrase is something used only when as one we rise and see.

For some reason we feel the need to carry the burdens our forefathers left us.They are the ones who messed up and should be held accountable. But also we should be held accountable because we have made no changes to move on to a sucessful future for all mankind

Re: Throughout history America has always overreacted, and has always engaged in war crimes and other human rights violations.

If it was not for the USA the French would be speaking German, The Kuwaitis would not have a country, South Korea would be communist, Japan would still be recovering from the war, and the world would lose the largest provider of economic relief to third world countries. That is the short list of Americas contributions.

I don’t think that covering other countries ass at our expense, just because it’s the right thing to do, is overreacting or a war crime or that providing more money than any other country on the planet to help others constitutes ‘human rights violations’.

As for Pearl Harbor versus Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Japan issued no warning. “President Truman wanted to issue a letter of warning giving an opportunity to surrender before using the atomic bomb. The letter warned the Japanese government that if they did not surrender completely, Japan would suffer "complete and utter destruction." The Japanese did not reply to the official letter, but the Americans knew the answer by reading the coded messages. Japan intended to fight to the death.” http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/history20/unit3/sec2_10.html

I would like to first dismiss the ideas of how close (or not close) the Japanese were to surrendering. There is way too much contradictory hearsay to determine this one way or another.

Also: the Russians did not have 1 million men ready to pounce. This is insanity. The Russians couldn't have found 1 million bushels of wheat, or 1 million scraps of cotton. The Russians could barely keep the western heartland away from the Germans, so you can be sure they didn't care about the empty east.

Someone mentioned that the second bomb was dropped due to the first not eliciting a surrender. This I have heard before and seems the most reliable notion.

A ground invasion would have cost possibly millions of lives.

Even putting aside the human cost of a ground invasion, the atomic bombs provided symbolic impact that firebombings simply did not (this desipite the fact that firebombings took far more lives, routinely).

Those saying "this is war" are on the right track. Obviously the Japanese are human beings and one shouldn't drop atomic bombs indiscriminately, but the fact remains that Japan was a force that had to be stopped (from not only a western point of view, but a humanist point of view). Americans were not mass raping, pillaging, and killing as they pleased. American actions were almost always directly in response, and conduct was remarkably on the level. Like it or not the human world consists of battling idealogies... and this is not likely to change.

There is a difference in demonizing and recognizing the scars our nation left in the past. Actually the former is a function of the latter. Every nation on earth has stains. Genocide and murder may be a mostly US export these days but every land had to be taken from someone, Europe or Ameria.

In every war, there is an unfair advantage to one side, because no country gleefully invade land that they know is better defended than they can take. The natives from america and africa were not a match for europeans, but you dont see them defending those genocides by saying crap like they started it or they would have killed us if they could have. Of course they would, WTF did you expect (although by seeing the lack of spine of some fellow americans here I'm willing to believe they'd just bend over for anyone coming to invade their land).

Bottom line, every nation murdered, but at least they arent making up excuses for it trying to believe it themselves...

Its ironic how these people argue on about the right and the wrong. Its these misunderstandings that plague us in the first place, that leads to this horrible acts of war. Sad to say, wars will never go away.

I don't know what to make of the human race... we are intelligent enough to create atomic weapons... unwise enough to use them.

If the current administration in the usa is DUMB enough to actually go to war with iran and think there will be no retaliation, they must be on some strange drugs... or just insane.

I highly recommend everyone watch "The Atomic Cafe" americans.. hah lets not blame one race, I am ashamed to be human.

"Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. -Bill Hicks"

Amen to that, and that is what is dangerous, that millions of people can go to sleep and believe there was a reason to vaporize a city.

And those people truly believed they were the good guys, like they thought the japanese didnt see themselves as working for the good guys?? Does anybody know a guy who really believes himself to be evil??

Honestly... humanity without ANY kind of conscience won't last five years.

I like how some people are justifying the dropping of the bomb by saying "look at what Japan did!!!" If Japan was evil or whatever you may call it then we shouldn't justify our actions in comparison to theirs. I cannot say the bombing was necessary or not but the fact remains that many people were killed, what ever the cause.

In a million years I never thaught I'd see so many motherf****en idiots...You learnt absolutely nothing out of history!9/11 was an inside job, the Nukes were unneccessary, the Holocaust DID take place, the US DID march to Berlin you moron up there!"it was apparent the Russian would beat us there" My god, you moron, in the time of WWII the US and the Soviets were ALLIES!! The cold War developed AFTER that!Shit man, wtf do you learn in your american retard-schools?Are Europeans the only human beings left with some unterstanding of history in the Western World?You are ridiculous for knowing nothing and boasting around with total bullsh*t and lies, you make me sick

With everything being said, have you caught the underlying pattern. Do you see humanity has and unfixable cancer. Underline unfixable. Now face this word - Jesus...God we need help.... thank God some are going to make it through. You bloggers - get your ****** together. Figure it out all the way. The fact is humanity is not going to make it. The world is not going to make it. The best hope is that you will get your head on straight. Forget about fame fortune power and pleasure. Serve others. Big earth end is close. Judgement is coming. Laugh if you wish.

Hey, who there hell cares about some old photos from last century. What about now? There is a Nuclear strike planned on Iran. Can anyone supply some evidence that Iran poses a threat to the west? The US is the only Government to use Nukes during war and will use them again. For those who are stuck in moral judgement for one side or the other, remember 'MIGHT IS RIGHT' and your thoughts or feeling amount to naught, even mine. ANONIBUS

"It's only the beginning of what we americans deserve, because thats just FOR ONE SINGLE SECOND of the years and years of wars we have been waging."

The irony in this statement is that you have to power to give yourself what you think "we" deserve. So I take it that since you are posting in this blog, you haven't given yourself what you think you deserve as an American.

The other irony in this line of thinking is that the poster must believe that "we" as citizens should be doing more to control the "evil" actions of our government (which would justify why we "deserve" something to happen to us). If this is the case, the same could be said of all the Japanese citizens who died by the bombs as a result of not controlling the "evil" aggression of their government.

"Sins of the Father..." BS. The father is responsible for what the father did, no one else.

Ahh, the apologists. It's sickening when people try to gain some personal kudos for apologizing for some action done by other people many years ago that they had absolutely nothing to do with.

No apology from me would be of any value for the actions done by people years ago that I didn't know. Nor would the apology of any Japanese person today be of value to me for the actions of the generations before them. I judge any person TODAY according to THEIR actions, not the actions of those who preceeded them.

The most intelligent things said on this blog so far are that we should understand the nature of war, and to understand that there are those who will not simply behave themselves and play nice. War is often a necessary self-defense response to an attack.

"War is evil." The concept "war" is neither good nor evil without consideration for the specific context of the specific war.

Let's say your parents had seen the pictures, maybe they would have thaught you to care about genocide. Then you wouldnt have to even try to pretend Iran can even scratch you pussies just so you can do the dirty job blissfuly once again. Really Americans can't even take on a country without WMDs like Irak and Nam and now they're going after Iran because they might in 10 years do the same thing they did???

I'd be pissing my pants too thinking I might be getting a nuke in my sleep if I had such a guilty mind too :P

Yes, 'some old photos'. We have much bigger problems facing the world than stuff that happened before we were born. I dont wish harm or radiation poisoning on anyone, why some people lash out, i dont know .But the fact remains a lot of you are living in the past. WHAT ABOUT NOW? DU weapons, mini nukes, come-on people, what about now? Does it take 62 years to learn a lesson????ANONIBUS